Insects Among Us
They're everywhere! They're everywhere!
SCIENCE LESSON: INSECTS (the bold words are important things to remember)
Did you know that there are many more kinds of insects on earth than any other kind of living creature? In fact, one out of every four animals on earth is a beetle which is an insect. Insects also eat more plants than all the other creatures on earth!
Living things are classified into different groups according to certain things in common that they all share. There are 4 things an animal must have to be classified as an insect.
Insects must have these four things:
1. Three body parts - a head, a thorax, and abdomen. An insect's wings and legs are attached to the thorax (the middle part). You can not always see the abdomen looking at the top of the insect (wings are one thing that can get in the way), sometimes you have to turn the insect over to see the abdomen underneath. The insect's organs, like the heart, are located within the abdomen.
2. Six legs
3. Two antennae - sensory organs attached to the head. An insect's antennae work somewhat like our sense of smell or taste to give the insect additional information about their surroundings. Some things insects sense with their antennae are touch, air motion, heat, vibration (sound), and especially smell and taste.
4. An exoskeleton - This is a thick covering over the outside of the insect's body. It's not like skin but similar to what our fingernails are made of. In our bodies, muscles are attached to bones (skeleton) and help us move. We couldn't walk around without our skeletons. The insect's skeleton is on the outside and exo means on the outside. The insect's muscles are attached to the inner surface of the exoskeleton just like our muscles are attached to our skeleton. The exoskeleton makes it hard for the insect to grow and get larger. This is because the exoskeleton can't grow. Many insects must shed their exoskeleton in order to grow. Molting is the process where an insect sheds it's exoskeleton. It wriggles out of the old one, and a new, larger exoskeleton develops around the insect.
Learn the parts of an insect by studying the picture below:
Most insects have one or two pairs of wings, but wings aren't necessary to be classified as an insect. Bats and tiny humming birds have wings and can fly, but they are not classified as insects. Why do you think a tarantula or a centipede be would not be classified as insects?
B. Look at the pictures below. Some are insects and some are not. Can you tell which are insects and which are not? For each picture, ask the following questions:
1. How many body parts does it have? (some times it is very hard to tell body parts as in the case of beetles).
2. How many legs?
3. Does it have antennea?
HINT: It's not always easy to see the number of legs, body parts, and antennae, but you can see when the animal has something that an insect does not have.
Ask Mom or Dad to take you to the park one evening. prepare a glass jar with a lid by having Mom or Dad poke air holes in the lid. Put some grass in the jar and use it to collect "Lightning Bugs". If you catch enough, this will cause the jar to become a beautiful blinking light. You can keep the bugs for a day or two, but then let them go so they don't die.
